Incorporating functionalized graphene oxide into diethylene triamine-based nanofiltration membranes can improve the removal of emerging organic micropollutants.

Autor: Baig N; IRC Membranes & Water Security, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia., Matin A; IRC Membranes & Water Security, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: amatin@kfupm.edu.sa.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of colloid and interface science [J Colloid Interface Sci] 2024 Dec 15; Vol. 676, pp. 657-669. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 02.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.06.180
Abstrakt: The presence of emerging organic micropollutants (OMPs) in drinking and potable waters is a matter of great concern due to the health hazards associated with these. In this work, we present the preparation and application of a thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane containing functionalized graphene oxide to effectively remove low-molecular-weight OMPs from water. Graphene oxide was functionalized with amino silane to enhance its cross-linking capability during the formation of the polyamide active layer via interfacial polymerization of diethylene triamine and trimesoyl chloride. The TEM analysis showed that amino silane functionalized GO had 2-3 layered sheets, while non-functionalized graphene oxide appeared multilayered or stacked. XPS analysis confirmed the successful functionalization of GO. Characterization of the membranes with advanced techniques confirmed the successful incorporation of the GO and its functionalization: spectra from Fourier Transform Infra Red spectroscopy had the characteristic peaks of GO and NH groups; scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed a continuous presence of GO nanosheets. Contact angle measurements showed the TFN membranes to be more hydrophilic than their thin film composite (TFC) counterparts. Incorporating functionalized oxide nanosheets in the active polyamide layer produced additional water permeation channels, resulting in an improvement of ∼25 % in permeate flux compared to the pristine TFC and the TFN membrane with non-functionalized GO. The removal efficiencies of four OMPs commonly found in natural waters: Amitriptylene HCl (ATT HCl) and Bisphenol-A (BPA), Acetaminophen (ACT), and Caffeine (CFN) were determined for the synthesized membranes. The TFN membrane with functionalized GO outperformed its TFC counterpart with ∼100 % removal for BPA, ∼ 90 % for CFN and ATT HCl, and ∼80 % removal for the low molecular weight ACT. The high-efficiency rejection of OMPs was attributed to the synergistic effects of size exclusion as well as the reduced specific interactions between the functional groups.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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Databáze: MEDLINE